Lubrication of rails



June 7, 1960 A. HARDIE 2,939,546

' LUBRICATION OF RAILS Filed March 17, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 By I W Attorne ys June 7, 1960 A. HARDIE LUBRICATION 0F RAILS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed March 17, 1959 In venlor June 7, 1960 Filed March 17, 1959 A.HARDIE 2,939,546

LUBRICATION OF RAILS 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 y a m A Home June 7, 1960 A.HARDIE LUBRICATION OF RAILS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March 17, 1959Inventor By M r 2,939,546 LUBRICATION F RAILS 2,939,546 I Patented June7, 1960 surface of a rail, means for mounting said vessel on a cranewith its axis of rotation generally vertical or inclined from thevertical and with said lubricant conveying roller capable of engagingthe rail on which the crane is .7 5 Alexander I-Iardie,Stockton-on-Tees,England, asslgnor to ,The Power-Gas Corporation Limited, Stockton-on-Tees, England Filed Mar. 17, 1959, Ser. No. 199,sss Claims priority,application Great Britain Mar. 18, 1958 a 6 Claims. c1. 184-3) Thisinvention relates to the lubrication of rails which maybesubjectedLtoheavy loads, such as crane rails. 7

Rails and wheels of largetravelling'cranes are, during long travelmovement, always subjected'to lateral pressures which lead toconsiderable wear of rail and wheel flanges, resulting in lengthy andcostly out-of-s'ervice periods of the crane necessitated by the carryingout of repairs. i .1 By-lubricatirig therails with a lubricating oil dryfriction'betweenthe rail and wheel flanges can be eliminated anfcl'wcar,and tear of ,the rail and' wheel flanges consequently greatly reduced sothat out-of-service periods of the crane" are considerably curtailed oravoided.- I

- In a known method of crane rail lubrication, a lubricat ing oil pumpis drivenfautomatically by the long travel of the crane, that is to saythe pump operates only when thecra'ne is travelling along the rails,which pump is connectedby flexible piping to two crane rail applicators,one per rail. Duringtravel of the crane the applicator applies thelubricant to the rail; The base plate of the applicator is mounted on anend of the crane end-carriage structure, below the buffer, on thecentre-line of the rail. Attached to each base plate are two adjustablependuli each carrying a feltroller'. Pressed against the rail flanges bytheir own weight and assisted by a tension spring, these felt -rollersroll along the rail flanges, leaving a very thinoil film thereon whichisconstantly renewed. The lubricantis delivered to each applicator bythe oil pump. v

According to the present invention, a method of lubricating'a desiredportion of a rail for a travelling crane comprises rotationally sensinglinear movement of the oarriedand of imparting rotation to the vessel inresponse tomotion of the crane along the rail, a flow passage betweenthe base of the vessel and said roller for the flow of lubricant fromwithin the vessel to said roller, and means responsive to rotation ofthe vessel about its axis of rotation for causing opening of said flowpassage when the vessel is rotated;

Said means for causing opening of said flow passage may comprise avalveclosure member, which normally rests on a seat't'o close the entrance tosaid flow passage, said seat having its axis eccentric to the axis ofrotation of the vessel such that centrifugal action on rotation of thevessel causes the valve closure member to move off its seat'to open saidflow passage.

The base of said vessel containing the lubricant is preferably shaped asan inverted cone or a surface generated by the revolution of a curveabout an axis, ap-

proximating to an inverted cone, with the axis of the inverted cone orsaid surface eccentric to the axis of rotation of the vessel. An openingin the base of the vessel for, said flow passage is concentric with theaxis of the inverted cone or said surface and said means responsivecrane along the rail by frictional contact therewith and controlling theflow of a lubricant, such" as lubricating oil,' under gravity from'asupply in response to said'rotationally fsensed movement 'by causingsaid rotationally sensed movement to ,open by centrifugal action a flowth from said supplytofa desired portion .of a wearsustainingsurface'ofltherail. v "According to ,oneaspect of 'thisinvention, amethod 'of lubr-icating-arailffor' a travelling crane-comprisesestablishing" on the crane :asu'pply' of a lubricant, such as permitlubricant to flow from the supply in thepresence for receivinglubricant, fa lubricant conveying roller contothe base ofthe vesselforengagement with and applying lubricant to a desired portion of a side*onflange Jubric'ating o'il, in close proximity to the path of a railrelatively thereto, -establishing a flow path between said supply 'andan upper portion of a wear-sustaining surface of the rail, rotationally'sensing movement of the-crane along the rail byfrictional contacttherewith and controlling the flow of lubricant under gravity from thesupply in response to said rotationally sensed movement to to rotationof the vessel about its axis of rotation may consist of a ball-shapedmember which is automatically seated by its own weight'on said openingwhen the crane is stationary. When the crane is in long travel motion,the lubricant-containing vessel is caused to rotate about its axis ofrotation and resultant centrifugal force causes the ball-shaped memberto ride up the inverted cone or said surface, thus uncovering saidopening.-

The lubricant-containing vesselforms part of an ap- .plicator which maybe in the form of a pendulum of which one end is pivoted to the endcarriage of the crane and the other end carriesssaid lubricant conveyingroller which presses against the rail, and the longitudinal axis ofwhich is also the axis of rotation of said lubricant containing vessel.The applicator may, however, be

mounted on the crane structure by some other means such as, for:example, an inclined slideway. 7 In a preferred apparatus the vessel,containing the lubricant, may consist of a cylindrical shell'co-axialwith the longitudinal axis of the pendulum, closed at its top byadet'achably fastened cover plate and at its base by a detachablyfastened piece which detachably carries said roller, The topcover plateof the said vessel may be integral with or rigidly fastened to a spindlerotatable inside a bearing box rigidly attached to a coupling memberpivoted to, the endcar'riage of a crane. The base piece of the saidvessel is shaped to form the base of the vessel and is provided with anopening through which lubricant can pass to the said roller.

The said roller may consist of a number of circular felt discsconcentric with the longitudinal axis of the pendulum and held togetherand detachably fastened, for

example, by screwed studs or bolts, to saidbase piece,

the discs being each provided with a hole'cencentric with the openinginthe base piece and radial grooves on their 'mating surfacescommunicating with the said hole, said grooves forming passages or ductsthrough which the lubricant is forced, by'centrifugal force, from thesaid hole 'to the outer edge of the roller.

the pendulum member pivoted to the end carriage and the said passageconnected :by'flexible pipe to a lubricant tank mounted on the longtravel frame of the crane and an- \1 other passage provided inside therotatable spindle and top cover plate of the said vessel, so thatlubricant "can pass from the said lubricanttank to the said vessel, thevessel and bearing box being maintained filled'with the lubricant. v vg, n H

Two applicators are.preferably provided for achait opposite sides of therail and being so, {oppositely inclined. Both applicators may beattachedt'o'th'e s i end of the carriage, or one "applicator may beattached to one end of the carriage ajud'the other to the opposite end.

Any lateral movement of theerane chassis relativeto the rails iscompensated for by'the pendtiu Biy' this' means the rollers apply thelu-bricant'only-to theside's of the rails and never to the'head of therails. p I

An advantage of the methb'd'and apparatus of 'crane raillubricationaccording't'o thepresentinvention is that it does not needa-purnp'for dlivermg'lubricant to'e'ach applicator. I h I Theinvention'will be further deseribefd'wit'h reference to the accompanyingdrawings which'illustrate one embodiment of the invention, by way ofexample only, and in which: g j V ,7 I

Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation ofa lubricant applicator with its rollershown pressed against acrane'rail, v

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic elevation showingthe'applicator attached toaj'crane end-'carriage,

Fig. 3 corresponds to the upper "part of"Fig'. 1 a nd shovvsaualternative arrangement for the supply oflubricant to the applicator,and p p p p I Figs. 4 and Sjar'e" detail views in'section' showingalternative forms of the base piece ofthe-applicator H V In the drawingssimilar parts are designated by the same reference numerals, l w

Referring first more panticularlyto 'Fig. 1, the applicator comprises acoupling member or lugjl having a bearing passage2 a base threaded toscrew into a cylindrical bearing box 3 which has a spindle 4 joui-nalledtherein by ball be'aringse fitted between the bearing box and thespindle. The upper end of the spindle 4 is threaded to receive locatingnuts 5 whilst its lower end is integral ."with a cover plate 7 whichhas'a'lowerreduced portion threaded to screw into thetop end 'ofacylindrical vessel 8. A base piece 9 has anexte'rnal 'wall threaded toscrew into' the bottom end 'of the cylindrical vessel 8 and is shaped tofor'm the'base thereof. The upper surface of base ieces is in the-formof an inverted conehaving its axis B-B eccentiic'tothe longitudinal axisA-A of the spindle 4 and so of'the vessel 8, which vessel isadapted'to'rotate about axis AA"amd to swing about bearing passage 2'.Extending through the base piece is a circular passagelO which isconcentric with the axis BB. A soft metal joint ring 11 is interposedbetween the bottom end of the vessel 8 and the base piece 9. Aball-shaped member 12 is providedto seat on and cover the top end ofpassage 10. A lubricant-applying roller 13 is secured between theunderside of the base piece 9 and a back plate 14 by means ofscrewed'studs 15. The screwed studs 15'engage'in screw-tappedlholesspaced around a bot'toin fla'nge 9a 'of base piece 9,the studs passingthrough respective distance sleeves 16 which extend through alignedholes in a number of'eireular discs 13a, 13b, 13c and 13d 'of felt'o'r'other like or equivalent material which 7 constitute saidlubricant-applying roller 13. It 'will be noted that the oppositeendsbfon which the crane travels, the applieatdrs res ingaga nn the distancesleeves 1 6 abut the base piee sand ck plate 14, thus preventingunwanted compression discs 1312-1311 when the'studs'ISaretightened,c'irof the spindle '4 and, with the exception of the eular discs i3al3d' are concentric the A -A ttom one 13d,a;re eac'h providdwith ahole 17eoneentrie with the passage in the base piece' 9. The roller discs "arealsoprovidediwithradial grooves (not shown) in their mating surfaces andcommunicating holes 17. The top cover plate 7 of the vessel 8 is pro--vid'ed'with a filling connection or passage 18'closeableby of a rail 21under the weight of the pendulum. A

flanged-wheel 22 of the crane is shown located on the rail. p

The vessel 8 is filled with lubricating oil through the connection 18,the oil level'when the vessel is full being indicated by the line 23 inFig. 1. When the crane is stationary the ball-shaped member 12 will beseated by its own weight on the tope'nd-of the passage 10, effectivelycovering this opening so that no oil can pass to the roller 13. When thecraneis in longtravel motion, the roller 13 causes the vessel 8 torotate about the axis AA and resultant centrifugal force causes theball-shaped member 12 to travel up the surface of the inverted cone,thus uncovering the top opening ofpassa'ge 10 andallowin g-oilto pass,via the aligned holes 17 and radial grooves in the component discs, tothe periphery of the '.roller 13 and so to the side of the rail 21.Thus, the fiow of oil from the vessel 8 is elfectedpartly by gravityandpartly by capillarity, and it will be obvious that the rate of flowwill belargely determined, interalia, by the size'of the passages 10, 17and the radial grooves in the roller discs 13a-132i, as well as by thenature of the material used forthese discs. v I

"When the oillevel 23in'the vessel .8 has dropped to nearthecommencement of the inverted conical base the vessel is refilled withoil through the connection 19 Referring now to the modified arrangementof Fig. 3, the coupling member 1 is drilled to, provide apassag'e 23concentricwith the'axis AA of the'spindle 4 and communicat'ing with theinside of the bearing box 3, and a passage 24'at right angles toand'communicating with the said passage 23 and with a pipe unionconnection 25 detachably secured to the member 1. Thepipe unionconnection 25 is connected to a flexiblepipe 2-6 which is connected tothe bottom of an oil supply tank'(not shown) mounted on the long travelframeof the crane. The spindle 4 and integral cover plate 7 are drilledto provide an axial passage 27 which'comm'unicates at the top with theinterior of the bearing box 3 and at the bottom' with the interior ofthe'vessel 8. 'In this arrangement, lubricating oil passes from the saidoil tank "mounted on the crane through the flexible pipe 26 and"communicatingpassages 24 and 23 to the interior of the bearing box 3and from there through the spindle pas- .sage 27 to the vessel 8. Itwill be appreciated that since the bearingbox 3 and vessel "8 aremaintained filled with oil, the ball bearings '6 are continuouslylubricated.

7 An oil sealing ring'28, against which the spindle 4 rotates,

is provided in: the bottom of the bearing box3 and asoft metal jointring 29 is provided at the joint between the coupling member'l and thetop ofthe bearing box '3.

Refer-ring nowto the modifications of 'Fig s.4 and 5,

the base piece 9 is shaped tdform the base of thecylinirerablyeenstrfieted"of metal throughout.

"Two applicators may be suspended on 'a'era'naior tlie like, from acommonr'pivot so that theiespective rollers 13 press against-oppos itesides Yof the rail l B othr a'pplieators maybeattached to the same endofthe/carriag of the crane or one applicator may be attached to one endand the other to the opposite end.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for applying a lubricant to a desired portion of acrane-supporting rail which can be subjected to heavy loads, comprisinga rotatable vessel for receiving a lubricant, a lubricant conveyingroller connected to the base of the vessel for engagement with andapplying lubricant to a desired portion of a side surface of a rail,means for mounting said vessel on a crane with its axis of rotationgenerally vertical and with said lubricant conveying roller capable ofengaging the side surface of the rail on which the crane is carried andof imparting rotation to the vessel in response to motion of the cranealong the rail, a flow passage between the base of the vessel and saidroller for the flow of lubricant from within the vessel to said roller,said flow passage extending in a direction substantially parallel to theaxis of rotation and terminating at its upper end in a valve seat havingits axis eccentric to said axis of rotation, and a valve closure memberco-operating with said valve seat and which normally rests upon saidseat to close said flow passage and which is moved ofli said seat bycentrifugal action upon rotation of said vessel about said axis ofrotation.

2. Apparatus for applying a lubricant to a desired portion of a cranerail which can be subjected to heavy loads, comprising a rotatablevessel for receiving a lubricant, a lubricant conveying roller connectedto the base of the vessel for engagement with and applying lubricant toa desired portion of a side or flange surface of a rail, means formounting said vessel on a crane with its axis of rotation generallyvertical or inclined from the vertical and with said lubricant conveyingroller capable of engaging the rail on which the crane is carried and ofimparting rotation to the vessel in response to motion of the cranealong the rail, said vessel having a generally cylindrical internalsurface and a base member presenting interiorly of said vessel aquasi-conical surface of whiclr generally vertical direction andterminating at its upper end substantially at the apex of saidquasi-conical surface, and a ball shaped element co-operating with saidbase member and disposed within said vessel to rest substantially at theapex of said quasi-conical surface when said vessel is not rotating toclose said flow passage and to be displaced under centrifugal action toopen said flow passage when said vessel is rotating.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 in which said quasiconical surface isconvex.

4. Apparatus according to claim 2 in which said quasi-conical surface isconcave.

5. Apparatus according to claim 2 in which said quasiconical surface isgenerated by the revolution of a curve about an axis eccentric to theaxis of rotation of the vessel.

6. Apparatus according to claim 2 in which said flow passage has at itsupper end a valve seat substantially I co-axial with the axis of thequasi-conical surface.

References Cited in the file of this patent

